Frank Walker - “What can I do about this problem?” By Kimble D. McCutcheon A lone Republic P-47 “Thunderbolt”, affectionately known as the “Jug” because of its rotund shape, was cruising in the bright sky of Germany. In one of the numerous skirmishes of the day, the Jug had become separated from its group. Now its pilot was headed home, low on ammunition and not exactly brimming with fuel. He had pulled the big Pratt & Whitney R-2800 back to less than half power and it was now sipping fuel at a rate of only 65 gallons per hour. To avoid any further enemy contact, he was flying at about 15,000 feet, in and out of the top of a broken overcast that hid him from the view of enemy fighters most of the time. The P-47 “Thunderbolt” Encountering one of the clear spots, the Jug pilot rapidly scanned above him and was shocked to see a couple of German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 fighters a few thousand feet above him and ahead by about a mile. “No threat”, he thought. Looking around still more, he now saw the object of the Fw 190’s interest – a lone B-17, trailing smoke from its number two engine, and heading for the cover of the same overcast the Jug pilot was using. It was evident to the Jug pilot that the B-17 could not make the other side of the clear area before the Fw 190s caught up. Knowing he had no time to spare, the Jug pilot flipped a switch on the top of his throttle and simultaneously pushed the propeller ,throttle and supercharger controls forward to the stops. Moving the stop aside on the throttle control, he continued to push the throttle and supercharger controls to the War Emergency Power setting. The mighty R-2800 sprang to life, delivering over 2300 hp. The Jug pilot felt the exhilaration of the rapid acceleration. He was now burning over 275 gallons of fuel per hour, but he knew this would not be necessary for more than a few minutes. He raised the nose of the Jug until it was slightly above the horizon and then pushed it gently forward until he was very light in his seat, but not yet weightless. Freed of the induced drag, the Jug accelerated even faster. He was overtaking the Fw 190s. They were now within range of his eight .50 caliber machine guns. The Jug pilot did a quick check of the B-17s location and decided he could delay firing just a bit longer, thereby assuring a better chance of a kill. Finally, the Jug pilot sensed he could wait no longer. Ever so slowly, he raised the nose of the Jug, up past the horizon and finally to where the lead Fw 190 came into his gun sights. He aimed for an area just aft of the engine and squeezed the trigger. Eight machine guns simultaneously shook the Jug as three short gun bursts sent streams of lead in the direction of the lead Fw 190. With a slight tug on the stick, the Jug pilot adjusted his aim as tracer rounds made visible the path of his fire. He saw a small stream of smoke grow into flame which rapidly spread. The lead Fw 190 broke off the attack as its pilot bailed out. The Jug pilot maneuvered to sight the other Fw 190, but it was reversing direction, running for home. The B-17 tail gunner had witnessed the whole thing. He had seen the Fw 190s, called their position, and was waiting for them to come within gun range. Once the Fw 190s were dispatched, he announced to the rest of the crew that they had probably just been saved by the P-47. The B-17 crew did not know it, but they also owed their lives to Frank Walker, the number three son of a Florida banker. Frank was the Pratt & Whitney test engineer who had developed the water injection that allowed the Jug to win the chase. As important as it was, water injection was just another of the many contributions Frank made to the War effort, and just one of the still more numerous contributions that would follow the war. EDUCATION and MARRIAGE Frank can not remember a time when he was not fascinated by all things mechanical. Unlike his brothers who followed their father in the family banking business, Frank was more interested in working sixty hours per week at the local garage. For each long week, Frank received the grand sum of seven dollars. Although he considered himself the “black sheep” of the family because of his engineering interests neither his father nor brothers were anything other than supportive. Frank Walker, circa 1941 Frank J. Walker was born March 20, 1919 in Pittsburgh, PA. He moved with his family to Florida in 1925 and attended Ponce de Leon High School. Initially missing the application deadline for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Frank spent a year and a half at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida. He was finally accepted at MIT and received a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in early June of 1941. Instead of staying for his graduation ceremony, Frank drove directly home to marry Judy Woodward on June 12, 1941. Judy had worked as a switchboard operator and stenographer at the First Federal Savings and Loan of Miami, the bank owned by Frank’s Father. She met Frank while he was home from MIT during the summer of 1940. A mutual friend set up their first date. “I was not at all impressed”, remembers Judy. “His clothes were too big and he wore both a belt and suspenders.” But Frank was persistent, insisting on dates, showing up at 7:00 AM to drive Judy to work and hanging around the employee entrance to the bank at lunch time and after work. “Since he would not go away, I decided to try insulting him, but that didn’t work either”, says Judy. “As I got to know him, his personality started to grow on me and I began to like him in spite of his funny clothes. Then when he returned to MIT in the fall, he wrote a letter every day and expected one in return!” Once the wedding festivities were over, Frank and his new bride drove straight back to Connecticut to begin his new job at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft. Their honeymoon was the drive north. Pratt & Whitney was gearing up for the impending conflict of World War II, and housing was scarce in Hartford. The couple finally located a third-floor apartment that rented for sixty dollars per month. That was quite steep, considering that Frank only brought home $130.00 per month! The engineering market was extremely soft at that time and wages were low. Frank recalls that painters in the Pratt & Whitney plant made over twice what Test Engineers did. Despite economic considerations, Judy ran a successful and efficient household. The Walkers rapidly made friends in the Hartford area, and this group of friends all pitched in to help one another as the horror of World War II unfolded with its rationing and restrictions. When asked about what he thought were his greatest accomplishments, Frank replies without hesitation “marrying Judy and water injection”. Frank and Judy Walker, circa 1942 PRATT & WHITNEY While at MIT, Frank had been offered a position at both Wright Aeronautical and Pratt & Whitney. His work on variable valve overlap for Professor C. F. Taylor had gotten the attention of several engine builders. He chose Pratt & Whitney largely because of a Test Engineer named Barney Schmickgrath who was making the college recruiting rounds. Schmickgrath told Frank what being a Test Engineer was all about, and Frank was sold. Arriving at Pratt & Whitney, Frank participated in a six-month orientation that covered all aspects of engine development and production. Frank then joined the Experimental Test Department as a Test Engineer. His first job was in single-cylinder development of the forged cylinder head of the R- 2800 “C” series engines. Rather than being cast in place as was the usual practice, cooling fins for this cylinder were made by gangs of saws that cut grooves into the forging. After initial problems with cracked fins, loose spark plug thread inserts, and leaky rocker box cover leaks, the new cylinder head entered service and remained essentially unchanged through the remainder of R-2800 production. The Pratt & Whitney R-2800 After Pearl Harbor was bombed, Frank tried to enlist in the U.S. Army Air Corps, hoping his flying skills would aid the war effort. He had been a private pilot since 1939. The recruiter told him, “First of all, if you get in you will be a regular soldier just like all the others, with no special consideration due to your flying experience. Second, you are one hell of a lot more useful to us making good engines than getting shot at.” WRIGHT PARKINS At the time Frank Walker came to Pratt & Whitney, Wright Parkins was the mid-level manager responsible for getting new versions of the R-2800 into the air. As Engineering Manager Parkins had to coordinate the myriad activities associated with solving development problems. He had a reputation for being a tough taskmaster. “Parkins struck terror in the hearts of test engineers, and some of the guys even claimed he ate nails for lunch”, remembers Frank. “He made me go to Ford River Rouge plant over the Fourth of July in 1942 because they were having trouble getting some of their “B” engines to produce rated power1.